Written Answers

Wednesday 25 July 2001

Scottish Executive

Community Care

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it will take, in conjunction with Glasgow City Council, to prevent care sector staff in Glasgow from taking further industrial action.

Malcolm Chisholm: It would not be appropriate for ministers to be involved in such a local issue.

Education

Ms Margo MacDonald (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many computers have been distributed in Scotland through the Computers Within Reach scheme announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in October 2000.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The Computers Within Reach scheme has been piloted by the Department for Education and Employment (DfEE) in certain areas of England only. The scheme does not operate in Scotland, Northern Ireland or Wales. The scheme is currently being evaluated by DfEE, and the Scottish Executive will examine this evaluation with interest.

  The Executive will launch a digital inclusion strategy later this year which will aim to ensure that all people in Scotland are able to benefit from digital technologies.

Foot-and-Mouth Disease

Mr Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will reimburse Argyll & Bute Council and Highland Council for the costs they incurred in setting up and manning disinfectant points on the roads during the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak.

Ross Finnie: The decision by the Argyll & Bute and Highland Councils to set up disinfectant points in their areas was taken despite advice from the Scottish Executive that such measures were unlikely to prove effective in disease control terms. The Executive, therefore, has no plans to reimburse the councils for the costs incurred.

Further Education

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it will take to assist the Langside College Board of Management with its funding recovery plan.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The funding of individual colleges of further education is a matter for the Scottish Further Education Funding Council. The council has been in detailed discussion with the college on the preparation of its financial recovery plan, which is now expected to be incorporated into the college’s management action plan by the end of July 2001. Implementation will be a matter for agreement between the council and the college.

Health

Mr Kenneth Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects to receive the report of the review of the implications associated with implementing a neonatal hearing screening programme.

Malcolm Chisholm: A review of the implications of implementing a phased neonatal hearing screening programme was placed on the SHOW website on 27 June and is available at www.show.scot.nhs.uk .

Meat

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will review the performance of Quality Meat Scotland.

Ross Finnie: I have seen Quality Meat Scotland’s forward plans and am impressed with the approach set out. Quality Meat Scotland is owned jointly by the Meat and Livestock Commission and the two bodies representative of levy payers, NFU Scotland and the Scottish Association of Meat Wholesalers. Any review is therefore a matter for the industry as I have no direct responsibility for Quality Meat Scotland itself.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people with mental health problems are assured the provision of practical support for advocacy services as recommended in the Accounts Commission for Scotland report, A Shared Approach .

Malcolm Chisholm: Our National Health: A plan for action, a plan for change requires all NHS boards to work in partnership with local authorities to ensure that integrated independent advocacy services are available to those who need them. In addition, the  Framework for Mental Health Services in Scotland encourages the provision of independent advocacy schemes and emphasises the importance of the engagement of advocacy organisations in the joint planning process.

  The Mental Health and Well Being Support includes this issue in its discussions with the care agencies and other parties including local advocacy, service user and carer representatives in each area. Where necessary recommendations for improvements are made in the outcome reports from the group.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether performance indicators for joint working in mental health services have been developed and monitored as recommended in the Accounts Commission for Scotland report, A Shared Approach .

Malcolm Chisholm: Both the Scottish Health Advisory Service and the Mental Welfare Commission have indicators which cover joint working. For our part, we have set up a range of measures to further progress implementation of the Framework for Mental Health Services in Scotland , including joint working. The lead rests with the Mental Health and Well Being Support Group, which is visiting each health board area and assessing implementation with the partners locally, including how they work together.

  In addition, we are currently consulting on the Performance Assessment Framework for the new unified health boards which will cover joint working on, amongst other things, mental health, and in the course of the next few months we will be reviewing with the Accounts Commission the range of performance indicators across the whole of community care.

Special Educational Needs

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what provision local authorities are required to make for pupils with speech and language impairment who do not have a Record of Needs.

Nicol Stephen: Education authorities are required to make appropriate provision for all children with special educational needs, including those with speech and language impairment. In addition, Section 2 of the Standards in Scotland’s Schools Etc Act 2000 places a legally enforceable duty on education authorities to ensure that the education they provide is directed to the development of the personality, talents and mental and physical abilities of children and young people.

Special Educational Needs

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of children in each local authority area have a Record of Needs that specifies a need for speech and language therapy.

Nicol Stephen: The information requested is not held centrally. The September School Census collects information on the main difficulty in learning of pupils with Records of Needs. Each pupil with a Record of Needs is classified into one of a list of main difficulties in learning. The Executive is currently undertaking a review of the Records of Needs process and if there appears to be a need to alter the range and extent of statistical data collected, this will be given due consideration.